Herpetic simplex encephalitis followed by myelopathy

A 48-year-old male was admitted to our hospital because of fever, headache and vomiting. At admission, the level of consciousness was depressed (drowsy) with slight confusion. Extremely miotic pupils, nuchal stiffness, ataxia and myoclonic movements of both upper limbs were observed. The eye movements were almost normal and there was no definite limb weakness or sensory impairment. A few days after admission, his level of consciousness further decreased, and opsoclonus, ataxic breathing and intestinal paralysis appeared. The body temperature fluctuated remarkably ranging from 33.0 degrees C to 39.0 degrees C. The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examination revealed lymphocytic dominant pleocytosis, increase of protein and decrease of glucose. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) showed increased antibody (IgG) to herpes simplex virus (HSV) in both serum and CSF. The antibody in CSF further elevated at the later examination. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated high signal intensity areas mainly in the cerebellum and sporadically in the supratentorial subcortical white matter on T2-weighted images. Administration of Gadolinium-DTPA also revealed an additional lesion in the pons. From these findings, he was diagnosed as herpetic encephalitis involving the brainstem and the cerebellum, and acyclovir was administered. Although his initial symptoms and signs started to recover three weeks after admission, he newly developed complete flaccid paraplegia, dysuria and sensory disturbance with the spinal cord level of the 4th thoracic segment. The oligoclonal IgG bands were detected in the cerebrospinal fluid of the convalescent stage.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)